Darkness Is Rising
by KaniShikamaru
Summary: This is a story of Yami's rise from abused slave to pharaoh of Egypt. Chapter 10 I'M BACK!
1. Still A Child

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Give Takahashi Kazuki the praise. He fully deserves it.

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     It was still dark when the seven year old boy awoke. He was dead tired, but he forced himself to get up. He had to. Today it was _his_ job to get water from the town's well since the well in the vizier's estate was ruined.

     After pouring a little water over his face to wake him up, the boy walked out of his chamber in the slaves' quarters and across the courtyard in the vizier's manor.

     He stopped by the gateway and tucked a strand of blond hair behind his ear, picking up the yoke and its two buckets. With a tired sigh, he unlocked the gates and, lifting the yoke to his back, trudged down the hill to the town.

     By the time he reached the city, the sun was just showing itself above the horizon. Several tradesmen in the marketplace were already opening their shops and stands.

     The boy set his load down by the well, and unhooking one of the buckets, quickly filled it. After the second one was full, he pulled the bar across his shoulders.

     The full buckets were hard to carry, and the boy stumbled several times as he slowly made his way back up the hill.

     When he reached the vizier's estate, everyone was already awake.

     "Yami!" A teenager appeared at the open gate. "What took you so long?"

     The boy set down his buckets and collapsed with a moan. "It's not my fault, Atari," he muttered. "Yesterday, Terran beat me for not brushing the horses the way he wanted...but he didn't think about how short I was. He told me that I had to get the water today...or else." The boy scowled. "Curse him."

     Atari helped the boy to his feet. "Don't let the master hear you talking like that!" he exclaimed in a loud whisper. " There are several councilors visiting tonight, and we have extra work to do!"

****

     On their hands and knees, the boy Yami and Atari scrubbed at the marble floors. Yami stopped every now and then to wipe the sweat from his face. Although it was unbearably hot—Egypt was in its dry season—none of the slaves were allowed rest or food until sunset.

     "Atari?" the boy asked at last.

     "Yes?" the teenager answered.

     "What...are _those?" He pointed at the jagged outlines in the distance._

     Atari squinted. "The pyramids of Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura." He set down his cloth and came over to him. "Why do you ask, little one?"

     The boy's eyes, so much like the scarlet sunset on the horizon, brightened. "One day I'm going do something even _greater than building the pyramids," he said determinedly. "Like my father!"_

     Atari chuckled. "Keep working, little one. You'll do it someday."

_     "Yami!"_ The call sent the boy suddenly scurrying towards his master's quarters. Having learned long ago that responding slowly to the master meant painful punishment, the boy sped through the mansion, passing the kitchens and the courtyard. Sometimes he wondered how the vizier's voice could carry so far.

     The boy ran, his feet flying over the cool stone of the indoor rooms. Reaching the first corridor, Yami threw open the second door to the right. It was his master Terran's bedroom.

     "Y-you wanted to see me, Master?" he said timidly.

     Terran rose from his bed. At his full height, he towered over the boy. His black hair shadowed a dark, expressionless face seemingly cut from stone. His body was like stone in motion and, as Yami had learned, could...well, _hurt anyone in his way._

     "I told you to get _fresh water from the city well, since the new one here is not yet dug." The man stepped towards him. "This water is _stale,_ boy."_

      "I-I apologize, Master," he whispered.

     "First the horses...and now this!" The vizier scowled. "You will be chastised _severely_. Do you not know what happens to slaves who can not fulfil their responsibilities?!"

     Yami went pale. Oh, he _knew,_ and all to well.

     There was silence in the room for a moment. Terran gave him a look full of contempt. He moved forward.

     The blow came so suddenly that Yami didn't have time to react. The man's fist crashed against his face, sending him sprawling.

     "Just like your father," he hissed. "Always dawdling, never working." Another fist caught him in the face. "He was worthless as a servant. That is why he was executed. You will be next if you can't do simple work!"

     "That's not true!" Yami protested, crabbing backwards towards the wall. "My father was...the greatest man in the world—and a better man than you could _ever_ be!"

     An open hand met his face with a brutal force that sent the boy against the wall. He lay there, rubbing his sore cheek and anticipating the next blow...

****

     For the rest of the afternoon, Yami was kept busy in spite of the bruises all over his body. He didn't get to see Atari until evening when all the slaves were in their quarters. He and the teenager shared a room, so he couldn't avoid telling him everything.

     "Yami..." Atari began, but stopped when he saw the boy. "You're bleeding!"

     The spiky-haired boy looked away and didn't speak.

     Climbing to his feet, Atari came over to him. "Let me see your arm."

     Yami slowly raised his arm, bruised almost black and blue. There were deep cuts all over his face and chest, and more bruises on his legs.

     Atari thoroughly examined his small body. "Was it Terran?"

     The boy nodded, his face expressionless. He had learned long ago to control his emotions.

     The teenager led the boy to his pallet, lay him down, and after getting some water, carefully washed his face.

     "A-Atari?" Yami whispered at last.

     "Yes, little one?"

     "What-what was...Father like?"

     Atari paused, staring at the empty wall before him. "Your father Xander was a great man who loved you...and Egypt...with all of his heart," he said quietly after a moment.

     "What did he do...to make the master hate him so much?" the black-haired boy asked.

     The teenager folded his damp cloth on Yami's feverish forehead. "I don't know if you remember, but he was a goldsmith...

     "I remember," Yami said softly, closing his eyes.

     "...and I was his apprentice.

     "Terran had just become the vizier, since the first one died, and he quickly proved himself a poor leader. To begin with, he had already executed almost every male member of his family, for fear that they would try to kill _him. Then he taxed all goldsmiths fifty percent of all the gold they produced."_

     "Fifty percent!" Yami's eyes shot open. "Why so much?"

     "Terran is greedy," Atari said blankly. "More greedy that a crocodile with five times his portion.

     "Anyway, after the tax was introduced, your father...he was enraged. How dare Terran take away half of what we all worked hard to produce? Xander openly _denounced_ Terran. He never paid the tax."

     "What happened?

     "When Terran heard about it, he sent his soldiers to arrest all of us. Then...then the damn guards...they..." Atari stopped, recalling that terror-filled day.

     Yami shivered. "I remember," he repeated. "Several days later...they took Father...and killed him...right there in front of us..." An inadvertent sob passed his lips. He shut his eyes tightly.

     Atari took a deep breath, gently stroking the boy's spiky hair. "Of course, since you were Xander's only child, he could _not_ allow you to live free. So you and I were kept as Terran's slaves."

     "But...why didn't he kill..._me?" Yami questioned, getting more and more sleepy._

     _"That_ I _don't _know."

     "Ohhhh..." The boy was asleep.

     Atari looked at the sleeping boy for the longest time. _He's gotten so much older since all this started..._

_     So much older, and yet still a child._

     He brushed the boy's blond bangs from his face and kissed the boy's forehead. With a sigh, the teenager got to his feet and went to sleep on his own pallet.


	2. The Fire Comes

     "The Red Eyes Black Dragon is more powerful!"

     "Ra! I swear that the Blue Eyes White Dragon is!"

     Yami crossed his arms. "Seto! Katsuya!! Just because we spied on the high priest's duel yesterday doesn't mean that we know _everything_ about the monsters."

     "What are you arguing about?!" a new voice demanded. "Did you go to the temple last night and spy on the priests' duels?"

     "Yes."

     "No."

     "Well..."

     Atari scowled at the three seven-year-old boys. "You're lucky you weren't caught. If the master hears of this...you will be _severely_ punished."

     "Boys!"

     The four turned towards the voice. It was Silas, the overseer. "Get back to work!"

     They quickly split up, each working his own row in the wheat fields by the Nile.

     "Yami?" Katsuya sidled up to his friend.

     "What is it?" the dark-haired boy replied quietly.

     "Which dragon do _you think is more powerful?"_

     Yami paused, letting the sickle in his hands fall slack.

     "I don't like the dragons that much," he admitted after a moment, bending to neatly cut a sheaf of wheat. "My favorite is the pharaoh's monster, the Dark Magician."

     Seto scoffed. He had come behind the two unnoticed.

     "The pharaoh's monster is _weak. Unlike the __high priest's favorite."_

     Katsuya gave him an annoyed glance. "What do _you _know?!" he demanded. "You've never seen a whole duel in your _life!"_

     Seto was quiet. "I have," he said after a moment.

     "What?!"

     "My father was one of the priests in the temple of Amen-Ra. He was a master duelist, and _almost the high priest! But then __Terran came." The brown-haired boy glared at the ground. "My family was split up. I haven't seen them for what seems like..._forever. _The only person with me now...is my brother."_

     "Your father was a priest...!" Katsuya shook his blond head.

     Yami scowled. _Someday, I will __be pharaoh, and I will keep __Egypt__ from going into more darkness. I will bring back the light to this country. He looked towards the pyramids._

     _Someday..._

****

     "What's your excuse for being late _this time?" Atari demanded._

     Yami reddened. "I-I was across the river..."

     "The pyramids, _again?"_

     "Yes..."

     Atari crossed his arms. "You aren't supposed to be there, Yami. Haven't I told you before that any slave who-"

     "-is caught in or near the pyramids without his master's authorization is in danger of execution." Yami scowled. "I _know!"_

     "Then why do you insist on doing it?"

     "Because someday I'm going to be _renowned!_ Just like the pyramids and my father...and the pharaoh."

     Atari stared at the boy for the longest time. _Yami__...I promised__ your father that I'd watch over you...but how can I do that if you won't even listen_ to me?!__

     "Yami, prominence does not allow one to do as he wishes," he declared finally. "Neither is it acquired that way."

     "Then...how?"

     The dark-haired teenager sighed. Yami's questions _always_ made him _think hard._ "Think of it this way. You remember how your father purified his gold?"

     The boy nodded. "He puts it through the fire."

     "Exactly. In this life, you are the unrefined gold. Soon the fire will come to refine you."

     "What do you mean?"

     "Bear the heat, Yami, and you will be prepared for greatness. The finest gold in all of Egypt."

     Yami frowned, thinking over what Atari had said. "When will the fire come?" he asked at last.

     Atari was stunned by the question. _How much does this boy think?! "I...don't know."_

****

     Three years passed, in which Yami grew up rather quickly. Not physically; he was still rather short for his age; but mentally.

     Everyone knew that he and Seto were the smartest on the estate, and even smarter than Terran, a fact that tormented their master endlessly. How long would he remain in power if his _own slaves _knew more than him?!

     Then came _that day..._

     The day on which his life changed.

     Forever.

****

     "Who's _that?"_

     Yami glanced in the direction Katsuya pointed. "It's Silas."

     Katsuya raised an eyebrow. "Since _when_ did the vizier's favorite soldier _act_ as if we _exist?!"_

     The other boy shrugged. "Help me sharpen this sickle, Katsuya."

     "Yami." Silas had come behind them.

     The ten-year-old boy tensed. "Wh-what?"

     "Master wants you," Silas explained, a grim look in his dark eyes.

     Yami scowled. "Where is he?"

     Silas pointed. "On the roof."

     Muttering inwardly, the dark-haired boy got to his feet. Something was afoot; he could sense it. With a nod, he strode from the riverside fields and up the sandy hill.

****

     Katsuya ran as hard as his feet could carry him. "Atari!" he shouted. "Atari, where are you?!"

     Atari was just outside the gates, sharpening a stick with his knife. He set down the stick, tucking the knife in his belt. "What's wrong, Katsuya?"

     The blond-haired boy panted as he explained. "Silas...he-he told Yami that Terran wanted to see him...I-I followed them, and..."

_     "What happened?!"_ Atari grabbed Katsuya by his shoulders. "Tell me!"

     Katsuya was almost crying. "Terran...he's-he's going to kill Yami...I-I saw it..."

     Without waiting to hear more, Atari shoved open the gates and rushed back inside, Katsuya on his heels.

****

     "You lazy, good-for-nothing boy! If I'd had my way, you would have been fed to the crocodiles with your father." The man leaned close to the boy's face. _"You have defied me for the last time."_

     Yami didn't reply. His thoughts were a whirl of the many languages he had learned just by listening; Egyptian, Babylonian, Chinese, they all voiced the same vow. _I am going to kill you..._

     He was slapped across his face. Tasting blood in his mouth, the boy scampered out of reach of his master's whip.

_     Since when had Terran used a whip on anyone?_

     "Yami!" The boy turned halfway, only to be struck down by an impending blow.

     He almost screamed. "Atari!"

     The dark-haired teenager stepped between the two. "You _bastard.__ What are you __doing?!"_

     A sneer twisted Terran's hideous face. "Killing him..." He chuckled, and Yami cringed at the sound. "What did you think I was doing?"

     "I figured as much." Atari's face darkened. "You _dog."_

     "So you defy me _too, eh?" Terran lashed out at the teenager, but he was too quick. He sprang forward, grabbing for the whip, but stumbled, losing his balance._

     Taking advantage of the younger one's unsteadiness, Terran grasped his wrists, pulling his arms back with a sickening crack.

     The last thing Yami remembered was Atari shouting.

     "Yami! Run! Get the hell out of here while you still can!"

     Then his voice was lost in the cries...the screams...the confusion...

     The darkness.

****

     Yami slowly opened his eyes. The shapes around him gradually became recognizable.

     "Katsuya...?" He was almost frightened by the sound of his voice; so weak and faint it seemed.

     The blond-haired boy almost grinned. "So you're awake."

     "What...happened?" Yami whispered.

     "How could you forget?" Seto's scathing voice tore at his scattered thoughts.

_     So you defy me too, eh?_

_     "Ai!" _Yami sat bolt upright. "Atari...where is he?"

     The two boys exchanged a brief, troubled glance.

     "Is he dead?" the dark-haired boy demanded.

     Katsuya finally spoke.

     "Yes," he said softly. "Terran...he killed him."


	3. Beating

Just so you know, I'm keeping the chara's original names since I can't think of any other good Egyptian names.

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     "H-how could you do that? How could you do that to Atari, you son of forty devils! You-you _bastard!"___

     Terran regarded Yami coldly. "He got no less than he deserved. Now get back to work...or _you're_ next."

_     "Ai!_ No, I _won't!"_ The boy was crying freely now. "I'll _never_ listen to you again! _Never!"___

     "Yami...please..._stop," Katsuya whispered behind him, struggling to hold him back._

     _"Now _you go _too_ far!" Terran's face was enraged. "Silas!"

     "Master?" The soldier appeared.

     "Take this...this _scum...out and __beat him, you hear me? Beat him!"_

     Silas' face remained expressionless. He stepped forward, plying his whip. "As you wish."

     Katsuya released his hold on his friend and stepped back, wishing he could erase his familiarity with what was to come.

_     Snap._

     Yami clenched his teeth as a stinging line was torn across his back. It was followed by another and another. The torture grew worse as new lashes reopened old scars, spreading fire across his back. He dug his fingers into the post to which he had been tied, bracing himself for the next strike.

     "You may stop now, Silas," Terran said coolly after Katsuya had counted a total of ten lashes. "Untie him."

     The overseer coiled his whip and cut through the boy's bonds. Yami collapsed to the ground.

     "This was but a reminder of who you are, boy. You are naught but a _slave;_ a piece of property that can be discarded at _any time," Terran snapped icily as he stood over the small boy. "You hear me, son of Set?" His foot met his ribs with a resounding crack and the boy doubled over coughing._

     Yami tasted blood in his mouth. He spat in the man's face. _"Curse you," he hissed under his breath._

     "Don't you _dare disrespect me again!" Terran growled, kicking Yami's bruised chest again._

     Yami bit his lip, silently fighting the tears until the world spun and went black.

****

     "Hold still, Yami," Seto cautioned. "This may sting."

     Katsuya snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if _you made it worse, Seto," he muttered._

     "Not now, Katsuya," Yami whispered almost testily.

     The blond-haired boy reddened and was silent.

     Yami squeezed his eyes shut as his back began to sting. _Damn you, Terran... "I am going to _kill_ Terran," he grumbled under his breath._

     "So am I," Katsuya added.

     "Doesn't it take a genius to learn that," Seto said almost sarcastically.

     Someone stepped into the small chamber. Yami opened his eyes. "Ishtar?"

     The white-haired boy entered the room. "What the _hell_ made you spit in his face?!" he demanded. "You could have been _killed for that!"_

     "Because spit is what he is. And someday...no, _soon_...he is going to be _dead."_

     Ishtar didn't speak for a while.

     "If Terran didn't kill you now...I _know_ he has something planned to prolong your suffering," the boy said finally. "Trust me. I know."

     Yami didn't say anything and Ishtar left. A cold feeling of fear twisted his stomach. Ishtar was one of the new slaves that Terran had bought from Babylonia (did I mention that Ishtar is the name of a Babylonian deity?), and he had an uncanny ability to correctly read a person's actions.

     The spiky-haired boy restrained himself from groaning aloud. As Katsuya helped Seto to bandage his aching back, he knew that the worst was yet to come.

****

     One year passed. The four eight-year-old boys began plotting to overthrow Terran. But it wasn't until shortly before the inundation of the Nile that their plan became serious.

     Serious enough to kill.

****

     "What time is it?" Katsuya demanded half-to himself.

     Yami glanced up at the sun. "About noon." He wiped sweat from his forehead, wincing as his back stung.

     Ishtar stopped his work to glance over the dry banks of the shrinking Nile. "River should be flooding soon," he said shortly. "It's been an extra long while since the last inundation."

     "And I'm thirsty," grumbled Katsuya. He looked up and gasped. "Quiet!" He bent to his work. "Master's coming!"

_     Shit! _Yami swung the sickle in his hands, neatly chopping the wheat stalks in half.

     "Yami." Terran was behind them.

     The boy spun. "What?" he demanded darkly.

     The man indicated the estate at the top of the hill above them. "Come with me."

     "Be careful, Yami," Katsuya said in a low voice as the boy slowly walked past. Yami turned halfway and nodded. He was half-fearful and half-angry at what was coming for him.

     As soon as Yami and Terran were in Terran's room, the man locked the door. He whirled on the boy, raising a dagger.

     "Usually, there's a punishment of _thirty lashes for the disrespect you showed me earlier," he began._

     Yami instantly knew what he meant. "That was a year ago," he replied warily.

     "And yet you seem to think that I've forgotten what you did." Terran grabbed the boy, his nails digging into his skin until the boy winced. "You will learn to respect me, you _bastard._ Even if your father never did."

     "No!" Yami ducked aside as the knife sailed over his head. _Ra! "I might seem weak now, but I'm only biding my time! You'll see! You _will _die by my hand! You will!!"_

     "Silence!" Terran caught Yami by his arms. Snatching a length of rope from his belt, he tied the boy to his bed. "You _will_ obey me, you hear!" His knife swung down and met bare skin.

_     "No!!!"_ the boy screamed as the blade tore into his back, painfully reopening old scars and creating new ones.

     Outside, Katsuya was growing more and more angry. "Why can't we go in and help him?!" he demanded.

     "Because he said not to," replied Seto.

     Katsuya stared at him as another scream tore through the air. "When did he say..._that?!"___

     "Yesterday," the brown-haired boy replied. "Yami told me not to 'interfere' because _he_ was the one Terran wanted."

     Another yell came through the wall. "Stop! Stop...you bastard!" Yami was shouting.

     Seto glared at the locked door. "And besides, we _tried_ to warn him..."

     Katsuya stood alone for a moment before following Seto back to the fields.

     _May Ra protect you, Yami. I know that you are not yet that strong._

****

     "Now do you respect me, slave?" Terran demanded, his foot poised for another kick. _"Now_ do you see how _insignificant _you are, son of Set?"

     Yami opened his eyes slowly, disregarding the blood running down his back. _I will never _give in to you!! _"Bastard," he whispered painfully._

     The kick caught him in the stomach. Yami didn't move, all will and resolve having left his body.

     Terran contented himself with another kick before unbolting the door. "Get out," he growled. "Get the hell out before I decide to end your miserable life _now."_

     Stumbling to his feet, Yami limped from the room.

****

     The sun was low in the horizon when the other slaves came home from their harvesting. Katsuya, Seto and Ishtar found Yami lying facedown on his cot in tears. His back had stopped bleeding, but it was oozing pus.

_     "Ahae, _Yami," Katsuya whispered. "It will...it _has to_...be okay."

     The spiky-haired boy rubbed his blond bangs and tears out of his eyes. "He's right...Terran's right. I'm-I'm so insignificant..." he gasped. "I-I should have died...with Father...Papa..."He buried his head in his arms. "Papa...I miss you s-so much."

     "Shh. Calm down," Ishtar said quietly.

     Seto put a hand on his shoulder, but was silent.

     "It's time we make our plans of destroying Terran..._come true," Katsuya muttered finally._

     "Y-yeah...I guess so..." Yami's sobbing quieted as he fell asleep.

****

     More years passed. Finally, after thorough preparation, Yami and the others knew...that it was time.


	4. Thou Shalt Not Kill

_Ahae__!! _Chap is up at last!! ^_^

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_     "Father!" Yami shouted as he ran through the dark mists. "Father! Where are you?"_

'Do not kill Terran.' _The words were spoken so whisperingly that the boy thought he had imagined them. But they came again._

     'Do not kill Terran.'

_     "Father?" Yami gasped, feeling his heart pound in his chest. "Is-is that _you?"

_     A man appeared, dressed in shining white._

_     "Y-you came back!" Yami exclaimed. "Father...you're really here!"_

_     Xander the goldsmith smiled gently as the boy rushed into his arms. "I'm glad to see you too, Yami," he said quietly with characteristic impassiveness. "But you have worried me much, and I don't have much time to tell you it all."_

_     "It all?" Yami glanced up at the apparition. "What do you mean, Father?"_

_     Xander's face grew serious. "The time draws near that you face Terran," he began._

_     "Yes...?" The boy scowled, sensing bad news._

_     "When you confront him, you are _not_ to kill him."_

_     Yami's crimson eyes darkened. "Why?" he demanded softly._

_     "Because the great Osiris has not ordained it." The man noted the grim expression on his son's face. "If you kill him, the balance of the afterlife will be disrupted, and you _will _be cursed."_

_     Yami clenched his fists, turning away from his father. "I _swore _that Terran would die by my hand," he hissed darkly._

_     "And so he shall," Xander replied. "But not tonight." There was a pause. "Don't try to tempt fate, Yami," he cautioned._

_     The teenager shut his eyes as he fought to regain control of his temper. "I understand, Father," he said at last. "I'll...I'll do it."_

_     Xander nodded. "Thank you, Yami," he said gratefully, tilting his head as if an unheard voice called him. "I must go now."_

_     "Wait." Yami put a hand on the man's arm. "Will...I see you again...Papa?"_

_     Xander smiled understandingly. "Not in this life, Yami," he said softly, disengaging his son's grip._

_     "I'll see you in the afterlife then, Father," Yami whispered, tears stinging his eyes as his father disappeared._

     "Yami!" Seto shook him hard. "Wake _up!"_

     "Aah!" Yami's eyes shot open. "What...what happened?!"

     The brown-haired boy frowned. "You were asleep."

     "I'm sorry." Yami rubbed his forehead. He used to have that dream every single night after his father's murder. And Atari had always been there to calm him when he woke up screaming.

     Unlike _now.___

     "What's wrong?" Katsuya asked softly.

     The spiky-haired teenager shook his head. "Nothing." He got to his feet and recounted the stack of weapons along the wall. "Where...is Ishtar?"

     "Here," the white-haired teenager replied quietly. He entered the small chamber. "Did you hear all that noise from Terran's banquet hall? He and the other men will be _dead drunk_ tonight."

     Katsuya smirked. "Then I guess it's the perfect time to strike."

****

     Seto lit a torch. "Go ahead, Katsuya," he said softly.

     The blond-haired boy splashed oil onto the roof below them.

     "Not so loud," Yami cautioned.

     Ishtar scowled. "They're going to here us, anyway. So why delay it?" He lit his own torch from the one fastened to the wall.

     Without another word, Seto tossed his firebrand onto the oil. "Get back!" The boys scrambled away as it burst into flames.

     "All right!" Katsuya pulled his knife from his belt. The flames licked higher...

     "What the hell's going on up there?!"

     "Come on!" Yami prodded the others towards the waiting ladder. "We _have to get the others!"_

     As the boys scrambled down the ladder, several men raced up the steps to the roof, only to find that it was afire.

     "Dammit! Who did this?!" Terran demanded of Silas.

     The overseer unstrapped his bow. "I don't know," he answered coolly as he notched an arrow to the string. "But whoever it is _will pay."_

****

     "The fire's spreading!" Ishtar called.

     _And faster than I thought. Yami's eyes narrowed as they ran. "Katsuya!"_

     "Yes?"

     "Get the rest of the swords. Everyone who can is going to _fight."_

     Katsuya nodded. "Right." He dashed off to where the other slaves slept.

     Yami turned to the white-haired boy. "Ishtar, you can start another fire on the other side. But be careful to leave an exit for us."

     Ishtar ran off without a word.

     "Seto, you and me are going to the banquet hall."

     The boy's blue eyes widened. _"What?!_ We could _be killed_ there!!"

     "Would you rather die or live as a slave for another day?!" Yami almost shouted above the now roaring fire. "Let's _go!"_

     Something flashed by his face. "What the hell...?"

     Seto glanced up. "Yami! Get down!"

     "What was that?" demanded the boy.

     The brown-haired teenager pointed. "Up there, see? It's Silas! He's shooting at us!"

     Silas drew another arrow from his belt. Raising it to his bow, he took aim.

     Yami shoved Seto towards the nearest room. "Move! These arrows are _poisoned!!"_

     The two boys dived into the open doorway as the arrow darted past. Yami took a deep breath. _"Now what do we do?"_

     "You won't need to 'do' anything," hissed a voice from the darkness.

     _"Ai!" Yami gasped as a pair of steel arms drew him into their crushing grip. He felt a knife blade at his throat. "Seto! Go!"_

     "Was it you who started the fire?" the voice, belonging to Terran, demanded. "Tell me, or I'll kill you!"

     "You'd kill me even if I _did tell you," Yami hissed, reaching for the sword in his belt._

     "Watch your tongue, you impudent _dog."_

     "Since _when did I have to listen to _you?" _the dark-haired teenager demanded, drawing the sword carefully to keep from making noise._

     Terran didn't see the sword. "Since you were enslaved, _bastard."_

     Without another word, Yami struck Terran in the forehead with the flat of his blade. With a surprised howl, the man dropped his hold on the boy, clutching his forehead. Yami twisted away.

     Terran recovered quickly and drew his sword with a resounding _shiiing__! He scowled evilly in the dark. "You have not won __yet, slave!" he growled, before abruptly vanishing._

     _What the hell-? _Yami approached the spot where the man had disappeared. There was an open trapdoor leading deep into the ground.

     Just then, Seto arrived with Katsuya, Ishtar, and his younger brother Mokuba.

     "Where is he?" Seto demanded.

     Yami pointed wordlessly at the trapdoor. Ishtar cursed under his breath.

     "Let's follow him, then!" Katsuya declared, unsheathing his sword.

     "Wait." Yami was more cautious. "He could be waiting for us down there."

     "Coward," Seto hissed.

****

     "Where _are we?" Katsuya demanded for the thousandth time. Ishtar gave him an exasperated look._

     "For the _last time, Katsuya, __we don't know!" he snapped._

     The blond-haired boy reddened. "Never mind."

     The farther down they went, the hotter it got. Slightly impatient to get the ordeal over with, Yami started a light-footed run. The others followed.

     Suddenly, the passage took a turn to the left. Rounding the corner, Yami nearly ran over the edge of the cliff. "Ra!!"

     A boiling lake of lava seethed a thousand feet below where he stood.

     Seto, Katsuya, Mokuba, and Ishtar almost fell to their deaths as they hurried to catch up to Yami.

_     "No!"_

     When they had regained their balance and caught their breath, they stared _down._

     Katsuya cursed. _"Osiris!"_

     "This place is scary," Mokuba said in a small voice. "I'm-I'm scared, Seto!"

     Seto embraced his younger brother lightly. "I know," he whispered. "Scares me, too." The brown-haired boy glanced above him. "What _is _this place?"

     "It is darkness's lair," replied a sinisterly familiar voice. "And anyone who enters _never emerges pure!"_

     Everyone tensed, glaring into the fiery darkness as Terran emerged, standing on the opposite side of the vast gulch. Yami didn't move. "What do you mean?" he said coldly.

     "Look around you, Yami," Terran said scathingly. "We are in the realm of darkness where monsters reside. Anyone who disrupts this sacred ground _shall be cursed." He burst into a wild laugh._

     "Be quiet!" Yami hissed, feeling his anger flame. "You laugh only because you're out of my reach. If we faced each other you wouldn't be _half as ecstatic."_

     Terran frowned. "Let's see, then," he retorted, nodding towards something above. Yami looked up.

     _Ra! _There was a narrow stone overpass that joined the two cliffs. It looked high and dangerous, but Yami didn't hesitate. Sheathing his sword, he began the climb. The other boys exchanged a questioning glance.

     "Let's go," Katsuya whispered.

     "No," Yami broke in quietly. "This is between Terran and me..._alone."_

     "Well said!" Terran declared loudly.

     "Yami!" shouted Mokuba. "Look! Above you!"

     The spiky-haired teenager glanced up. _Dammit_! How did Terran get _above _me so fast?! _There was no time to get an answer. The man leaped, extending his sword. At the last moment, Yami threw himself to the side, almost losing his grip on the rocks around him. He fought wildly for stability as rocks and several larger stones skittered down to melt in the lava. _Osiris___! Don't make me die! Please!_

     Terran landed on the slab of rock below him and immediately reached for Yami's feet, hoping to trip him. Yami finally got both hand on the rock above his head, and pulled himself up onto the stone bridge.

     With a low rumble of anger, Terran climbed up after him. "I'm going to _kill you, slave!"_

     "You're welcome to try!" Yami exclaimed, stepping quickly backward as his enemy's blade cut the air where he had been. "Didn't I tell you I was just biding my time?!" The two swords met with an earsplitting clash. Yami was forced to his knees, his sword the only thing between him and Terran's lethal cutting edge. He gritted his teeth. Terran _was _much stronger than him...but no, he couldn't think of things like that now. If he was distracted for one second, he would be the next one to die in the burning mass below...

     "Ha!" Yami forced Terran back and scrambled to his feet. Terran stumbled dangerously near the edge...

     The man fell, but grabbed onto a protruding slab of stone. Yami smirked pitilessly as he moved in to deal the final blow.

     "Ra! Don't kill me!" Terran cried pleadingly, gripping the rock face tighter. "I'll do anything you ask...anything...just-just _let me live!!! Have mercy on me!"_

     "No," Yami hissed coldly. He loved seeing someone as powerful as the vizier beg for his life. "You didn't show Father any mercy when you killed him." His voice rose in anger. "You didn't show Atari any mercy when you killed him. You didn't show me any mercy when you beat me. You didn't show any mercy when you used me as your toy. So what makes you think that I'm going to be merciful to _you?!"_

     "N-no! NO!!" Terran shouted as Yami raised his sword.

     _Do not kill Terran._

_     If you do, you will be cursed._

The teenager paused, breathing hard.

     The expression of fear on the vizier's face was replaced with a self-righteous smirk. "Too afraid, eh?"

     Yami could barely catch his breath. "What...makes you think that-that I couldn't...strike you dead...now?" he hissed.

     Terran chuckled malevolently. "Oh...I know you better than you know yourself, little Yami."

     The words were enough to make Yami infuriated. "Bastard!" he yelled, stepping down..._hard_...on the man's hand. "You do _not_ know me! No one ever has and ever will!"

     With a howl of pain, Terran let go of the rock and fell...

     Down...

     To...

     The...

     Pool...

     Of...

     Lava...

     "Yami!" Mokuba screamed in terror as Terran disappeared amidst the fire and smoke.

     _If you kill him, the balance of the afterlife will be disrupted, and you _will _be cursed._

     "No." Yami shook his head in unbelief. "No!" He stood unmoving, not believing what he had just done.

     _I am cursed..._

     The teenager threw his sword down in fury. He clenched his fists. "Why me?!" he shouted at the stone dome high above. "Why am _I _chosen to be as cursed as this?!" Suddenly, Yami found himself choking and realized he was crying. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," the boy whispered shakily, not sure if he was apologizing to his father or Terran. "I'm _so, so sorry."_


	5. Charms of a Thousand Years

Sorry for the delay (writer's block got me), and thanks for your patience. ^_^

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     By the time Yami and the others got back to the vizier's former estate, the place had already gone up in flames. Katsuya whistled at the sight.

     "It's _finally over," he said quietly._

     Seto glanced at the blond-haired boy. "Did you get the other slaves out?"

     Katsuya nodded. "No one's in there now."

     "Hm."

     No one spoke for a while, and the only sound was the flames, crackling in the night. Suddenly, Ishtar cocked his head. "What is _that?"_

     Everyone heard it. The galloping of horses and shouts of soldiers grew closer.

     "They're coming," Katsuya whispered. "What do we do?"

     "Nothing."

     "Huh?" The boys turned to Seto.

     "If we try to resist, we'll die, anyway," he reminded them.

     "Someone's here!" a man's voice shouted. Seconds later, they were surrounded by glaring torchlight.

     "It's just some _boys," muttered one._

     "Wait," spoke up a tall man. He glanced at the boys. "Do any of you know who started this fire?" he demanded.

     Katsuya opened his mouth. "I-"

     _"We _did," Yami whispered, speaking for the first time since they had been in the cave.

_     "What?!"_

     "We started the fire," the teenager repeated.

     The tall man exchanged a glance with his men. They looked uncertain.

     "Now isn't the time...or _place for explanations," he said finally in a softer tone of voice. "Come with us to the barracks. You all need to sleep."_

     It was then that Yami realized how tired he was. He barely had enough energy to walk down the hill with the others to where the horses waited...

     "Are you all right?" the tall man asked.

     "I'm fine," the spiky-haired teenager replied shortly, wincing at a twinge in his back.

     The man abruptly gasped as he looked closer at the boy. "Aren't you the son of Xander the goldsmith...the one who rebelled against the vizier?"

     "I am." Yami saw no point in hiding the fact. He wasn't surprised that the soldier knew him; after all, anyone who denounced the vizier Terran was _sure_ to be infamous throughout Egypt.

     "And you were enslaved by Terran?"

     Yami gave him a venomous glare as he swung up onto one of the horses. "Yes," he said curtly.

     The man nodded to himself. "That explains why you started the fire."

     "I thought you said that this isn't the time or place for explanations," the teenager hissed.

     To this the man didn't reply and a bitter silence washed over them all.

****

     Yami sat alone in the back of the small room, wrapped in a large cloak. It was late, and most of the soldiers in the barracks were asleep, but Yami could hear voices in the next room.

     _Probably deciding how to kill us,_ he thought to himself. The teenager winced. _Why am I thinking these things?!_

     There was a knock at the door.

     "Come in," the teenager said quietly.

     The door opened, and the tall man stepped in. "Why are _you _still in here, Yami?" he inquired softly.

     Yami couldn't think of a suitable reply, so he said nothing.

     "Aren't you going to get some sleep with the others?" the man asked.

     "No."

     "You don't surprise me at all, Yami," he said after a moment.

     The teenager frowned. "What are you saying," he muttered sourly.

     "Just like his father." The man sighed. "I knew your father, boy."

     "Ne?" Yami got to his feet. "You knew Xander the goldsmith?" The soldier nodded. "Who are you, anyway?"

     "Commander Nakht of the entire army of Egypt."

     "Nakht...?" Yami thought hard. He nodded after a moment. "I remember you. You helped my father."

     "I helped him in the..._unsuccessful...revolt against Terran." Nakht crossed his arms. "When the vizier's soldiers came for us...I and a few others escaped. Obviously, your father didn't."_

     "What is _that supposed to mean?"_

     The soldier chuckled. "What are you going to do now, Yami?"

     Yami scowled. "We're going to leave here tomorrow," he hissed.

     "Where will you go?"

     "We'll find _something."_

     Nakht arched an eyebrow. "And if you don't?"

     Yami scowled in sullen silence. He couldn't think of an answer that would satisfy, so he didn't speak.

     The man smirked, well-aware of the fact that he had won the argument.

     "My point is..._Yami__," he said, his voice strangely soft,__ that I wanted to repay your father for what he did to me."_

     "What do you mean?" The teenager was listening. "What did he do to you that you wanted to repay him for?"

     Nakht smirked again. "He saved my life...and more than once, at that. And he was the one who showed me that I could _fight."_

     "How are you going to repay my father?" Yami asked.

     "By helping you and your friends," the man said quickly.

     "How?"

****

     The teenager watched carefully as the ingot of molten gold swiftly melted. When he was sure it had been long enough, he used two stones to help him pour the mass into its final mold.

     He sat back on his heels, sweating slightly from the severe heat of the fire. But he had gotten used to it. _Every goldsmith had to._

     The teenager smiled slightly, his eyes on the cooling gold. As soon as he knew it was cool enough, he painstakingly extracted the hardening gold piece. Taking the piece up between two fingers, the dark-haired one examined it carefully.

     _Perfect._

     He got to his feet. It would make a nice touch to the object he was creating. He brushed several locks of blond hair behind his ear, staring unseeingly at the flames, his eyes reflecting the crimson of the fire...

_     Gold like the hawk's eyes and a puzzle, like the pyramids._

****

     Yami scowled down the long corridor. It was very dark. Grasping the torch he held in both hands, the teenager slowly entered the hall. He sucked in his breath as he saw the colorful paintings that covered every inch of the walls on either side of him.

     They were the portraits of the monsters that were so often used in the Temple of the Seventh Duel, where he was now.

     The Temple of the Seventh Duel was the place where Seto had been apprenticed to the high priest. Mokuba had gone with him, since he didn't want to be separated from his older brother.

_     And because he got to sneak and watch the duels._

     Suddenly, from far off, Yami heard an explosive roar. Glancing around, he saw a speck of light that was growing brighter. And he heard chanting. Quietly, the boy inched closer to the brightness.

     As he reached the end of the passageway, the light unexpectedly became brighter. It nearly blinded him, and he stumbled back, dropping the torch.

_     What in the-?!_

     All too soon, the brilliance had faded, and all that was left was one man standing at the far end of what seemed to be an arena. _The high priest, _Yami thought automatically, dropping behind one of the two pillars that stood at the entrance to the room. _It's Rai-djedi. Behind the man stood others, wearing black cloaks. __The lesser priests._

     As he took in the empty space on the platform nearest to him and the inactive tablets engraved with monsters, the reason for the light became crystal-clear.

_     He just beat an opponent in a Shadow Duel, and played a Heba Sbauu on whoever it was! That person who lost is now in the Shadow Realm._

     The high priest smirked at the empty platform opposite him. "Perhaps now you will begin to see why I do not tolerate those who oppose me," he said bitingly. "Ahmose."

     He turned, and would have left the huge room, but he caught sight of a light in the hallway beyond. With a start, Yami remembered the torch and swiftly extinguished it. But it was too late.

     "Who is there?" Rai-djedi said, sounding half-annoyed.

     There was no sense in hiding like a child, so Yami stepped out from behind the column. "It is Yami," he said quietly.

     The high priest scowled angrily. "You're the one who's been sneaking around watching our duels."

     The teenager was becoming equally enraged. "Something wrong with that?"

     "You should know by now that only the priests and occasionally the pharaoh come here. You should also know that you are neither a priest nor a pharaoh...and as long as I am alive, you never _will be."_

     Yami clenched his fists, desperately trying to hold back his boiling temper. He didn't reply.

     "I'm going to speak to Nakht about this," Rai-djedi warned over his shoulder as he and the other priests left the arena. "Urchins like _you _have no place _here."_

     The dark-haired teenager watched them go. He sank onto the near platform with an angry sigh. _Damn..._

     Absentmindedly, Yami extracted the pyramid-like puzzle he had been keeping in the small bag at his belt. In spite of the trouble he knew he was in, the dark-haired boy couldn't help but smile. He had been working on the golden puzzle for several months now, and had just finished it. The teenager found himself thinking about how much his life had changed ever since Nakht had adopted him and the others.

     Had it only been a year since he had been a slave?

     Surprisingly, it had. He was fourteen now. Just one year ago, the only think he had to look forward to was a beating because he had done something "wrong." Now thanks to Nakht, he had so much more in store for him.

     "What is _that?"_

     Yami glanced up. "Who's there?" he demanded.

     A boy slightly shorter than Yami entered the room.

     "Who are _you?" the teenager inquired cryptically._

     The boy stepped closer. "My name's Kashta. But my friends call me Kashti. _You _can call me...Kashta." He indicated the puzzle that the dark-haired one held. "What's that?" he asked again.

     "It's a puzzle," Yami replied.

     Kashta frowned. "Can I see it?"

     The teenager handed the golden object over without a word. Kashta gasped. "No..."

     "What is it?"

     The dark-haired boy Kashta ran a hand over the Eye engraved on the puzzle's center. "This...this is..." His voice trailed off and he stared into space, shaking his head. "Come with me."

****

     "Nakht!"

     With a sigh, the man turned from his conversation with Seto. "Yes, Rai-djedi?"

     "That...that _boy whom you adopted...he is utterly unmanageable!"_

     It was all Nakht could do not to make a face. It was also all he could do to not comment on the idiocy that had flourished within the priests. _Stupid..._

     "I thought _you were the high priest," the man snapped. "Can't __you handle it?"_

     Rai-djedi scowled darkly. "And you are his father."

     "I am _not his father...only his guardian." Nakht stepped menacingly close. Seto could no longer restrain himself._

     "I mean no disrespect, Neb Rai-djedi," Seto began, "as you _are__ the high priest and I am below you...the champion of all the duelists here, but _you have no sense."__

     The high priest gasped. "Take that back, Seto," he hissed.

     The brown-haired teenager only frowned. "You and Yami have been enemies...ever since you two met," he reminded Rai-djedi, his words biting deep. "You were also the one who taught me that the best way to vanquish your opponent is _not _to go crying to his parents like an irresponsible brat! You said to _challenge them...to never rest until they are gone."_

****

     "Here we are." Kashta paused before a wall.

     Yami almost made a face. "This is a wall," he snapped at the boy, becoming rather irritated.

     Kashta smiled up at him. "You think I don't know that? Look." He took a key hidden in his sandal strap, inserted it between two rocks, and turned it quickly. The two boulders slid apart with an earthshaking groan.

     Yami gasped. "What _is _this?"

     Kashta indicated the passageway. "I'll show you."

     Once the two were inside and a torch had been lit, he continued. "My father is guardian over this room," the boy whispered as the two walked down the dark hall and into a small room. "And I have the spare key."

     "What is special about it...that would make it need a guardian?" Yami questioned. "And what does the puzzle I made have to do with it?"

     "Look there." Kashta pointed to the back of the room. The teenager looked and gasped.

     _"Ra!!"___

     The boy smirked. "I told you..." Yami wasn't listening. He walked closer to...whatever it was.

     _It _was a stone sculpture, with six other golden objects resting in niches perfectly carved just for them.

     But one was empty.

     Reaching for the puzzle with fumbling hands, Yami hesitantly held it up to the vacant triangular slot. He didn't know _why _he was nervous. It wasn't like it was a big deal...except for the fact that a puzzle he had made fit perfectly into the open space.

     "It...it fits..." he whispered. "But _what_ does it mean?"

     As if in answer to his question, light burst from the puzzle. It was very brief, but enough to make Yami and Kashta cover their eyes.

     A voice spoke from the darkness.

_     Egypt is fallen, Yami, _it said_. Evil is worshiped, and darkness runs rampant. Help us, Yami_._ For you are the one to bring the good back._

     When it was dark once again, Yami stared hard at the sculpture.

     "W-was it my imagination...or did I hear a voice?" Kashta managed through clenched teeth. He was obviously badly scared.

     "You heard it," the teenager whispered. "And so did I." He ran a hand over the puzzle he had made, which now rested where it seemed to belong, with the six other objects of the stone sculpture. "But what does it mean? And _why _me?"

     "I...think I can answer that," Kashta said quietly. "You didn't know about the Makaoa Kha Renput before this, did you?"

     "The..._what? Charms of a Thousand Years?" Yami indicated the sculpture. "That's what these are?"_

     "Yes." As Kashta spoke, his face became strangely grave. "Some call the Millennium Items, but all _you _need to know is that there are seven of them. The Puzzle that you made, the Rod, which Rai-djedi uses; the Tauk, which my father has; the Eye, the Ring, the Scales, and the Ankh.

     "My father told me that each of them has powers. I don't know what all of them are, but what I _do know is that some of them can help a __lot during duels. And that your puzzle is said to be the strongest."_

     "I...don't understand," Yami confessed. "Why are you telling me this? You don't even know me!"

     Kashta scowled. "I _do _know that the one with the Millennium Puzzle is the one who will save Egypt. And-"

     A far-off shout cut him off.

     "Yami! Where are you?!"

     The teenager clenched his fists. It was Rai-djedi. "I must go." He reached for the puzzle—the _Millenium__ Puzzle—but Kashta caught his hand._

     "There's something else you should know...Yami. There are many people who want these Charms, because of a prophecy. It said that, 'whosoever shall wield all seven Millennium Items will possess power...unimaginable.' Only my father, Rai-djedi and I know about this place, and Rai-djedi is one of those who's trying to find the Puzzle. If he does...he could rule the _world with _the help of the other six Items!"

     "So you don't want me to take the Puzzle because he'd probably kill me to get it?" Yami demanded. The shouts were getting closer.

     Kashta nodded sharply. "Yes."

     The teenager took the Millennium Puzzle and stuck it in the small bag at his belt. "I thank you for the warning...but _no._ I'm not going to hide. I've been whipped for keeping secrets before. This is not so bad."

****

_     "You_ want _me_ to duel _you?"_ Yami said, repeating the high priest's words in disbelief.

     "I do," Rai-djedi replied. The dark-haired boy hesitated. "This _will settle our grudge," he reminded the teenager._

     Yami scowled. "Very well. I accept your challenge."

     Rai-djedi smirked. "Good."

     As the small group made their way to the arena room, Katsuya sidled up to Yami.

_     "Why_ the _hell_ did you accept that devil's challenge?" he hissed. "You know you're going to _lose _and be _killed...!"_

     The teenager's hand brushed against the pouch that held the Puzzle. "Why are you so quick to jump to conclusions?" he snapped.

     "But...Rai-djedi's a _champion._ And the only one among us who can duel is Seto...and even _he says it takes a lot of energy." Katsuya was obviously not enjoying the prospect of his friend—and amateur—going against the high priest—an experienced duelist._

     "Are you ready, Yami?" Rai-djedi asked from his side of the room.

     Yami's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I am."

     "Good!" The man began to laugh, loudly and maniacally, raising the golden rod he held.

     _The Millennium Rod.___

     "Let the Shadow Games begin!"

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Well...how was it? Good? Bad? Ne? Tell me! REVIEW!!

Oh, and here's the list of Egyptian words that I used in this chap...

Neb = Master, Heba sbauu = Penalty Game, Makaoa kha renput = Charms of a Thousand Years (Millenium Items, duh)

~KR


	6. Devil's Challenge: Dragon Against Dragon

In this chapter:

Implications of yaoi

Dubbed monster names (I don't know enough of the original ones)

And an all-round writer's blocked chapter

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I really suck at writing duels. Especially the ones from ancient Egypt. Because the rules were different back then (right?)

~

You have been warned. ^_^

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     At first he didn't _recall, only __knew._

_     "Why do you think you are still alive and not rotting in the sands like that bastard Atari? Why do you think you yet have breath in your thrice-cursed body? You think it was by your own strength? Ra knows, if you were left to your own devices, your mouth would be your downfall!"_

     "Yami!"

     _Dammit_. _The teenager gave a start. Realized where he was._

     Rai-djedi scowled at him from across the arena. "Are you ready?" he demanded testily.

     Yami shut his eyes for a moment. _Stop losing yourself in those stupid flashbacks! What happened has happened! It's over now! Terran is _dead, _and he can't—_

     "I'm ready," he replied.

_     And I don't want to think about that anymore. Not about Terran, and _certainly _not about what he did._

     "Then I'll go first." The high priest raised his hands. "I call upon the spirit of the Battle Ox!"

     The tablet rose, and the sword-wielding monster appeared in a flash of light. Yami let out a groan. Glancing at the slabs of stone below him, he figured that he had enough power to summon something stronger than that.

     Or not.

     "I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!" As the monster came to life, Yami suddenly felt as if all his energy was being sucked from his body. He gasped slightly as the world around him went blurry.

     "I forgot to mention." Rai-djedi's voice held a derisive tone. "When you summon a monster, it comes solely because your energy is supporting it. If you can't uphold you monsters...then—oh, well—I guess you lose and die from the strain." At the look of bewilderment on the teenager's face, he added. "Believe me. I've seen it happen."

     Yami grit his teeth, forcing himself to stay on his feet. _Oh, well! I'll stay alive__, then!_

     Easier said than done.

     "Gaia the Fierce Knight, attack!" Four slices with the spear, and the Battle Ox was gone. Yami brushed sweat from his forehead in slight relief. It wasn't much, but the strain on his energy seemed to lessen.

     Rai-djedi grinned. "I let you destroy that monster," he said smugly. "Just so you'll see how it feels to _win. Too bad that feeling isn't going to last."_

_     Do you _really _think I care about that? Yami scowled. "Just summon your monster."_

     "Very well. Come forth, Summoned Skull!"

     "Gah!" Yami lowered his head in his hands as Gaia was destroyed. _Ra, but this hurts._

     Rai-djedi was enjoying causing his younger opponent pain. He summoned another monster. "Blackland Fire Dragon!"

     The dark-haired teenager took a deep breath. "Curse of Dragon!" he called.

     The high priest grinned. "Dragon against dragon," he noted calmly as the Curse of Dragon burned the Blackland Fire Dragon to a crisp. "Interesting."

     The battle went on. "Insect Queen!" Rai-djedi declared.

     _Giant bug.__ Yami shivered. _Just what I need.____

     "And that's not all!" The man raised the Millennium Rod he held. "I sacrifice the essences of the Summoned Skull and the Insect Queen to summon..." He paused as the two monsters swirled into one. "The _Blue Eyes White Dragon!!"___

     "No _way!" _exclaimed Katsuya as the huge white dragon arose, letting out an earsplitting roar.

     "Why are you so surprised?" Seto demanded. "The Blue Eyes White Dragon has _always been the high priest's favorite."_

     Katsuya frowned. "I know that, Seto. I just...wasn't expecting it."

_     Who was?_

     "Dragon against dragon," the high priest said again. He chuckled, ordering, "Blue Eyes White Dragon, _destroy Curse of Dragon!!"_

     _"No!!" Yami cried out as the powerful burst of energy washed over him. The world spun, and he could barely stand. The teenager staggered backward, crossing his arms over his eyes. _Ra!__

     "Rai-djedi!" yelled Katsuya. "Stop it! You're going to _kill him!"_

     The high priest didn't move. "Death is the penalty for losing this game, Katsuya," he said forebodingly. "If he dies, it will be his own fault."

     Yami stumbled to his knees. Energy flowed from him like water. He didn't know why, but he figured that he was losing more energy this time than the other times he had lost monsters because Curse of Dragon was stronger.

     _I lost...already__...Ra, but this is too hard..._

     From somewhere in his subconscious mind emerged a frightening memory.

_     "I'm beginning to like this, Yami. I like seeing you cower in fear of the one you should have respected from the beginning."_

_     No!_

     He stumbled once on unsteady feet. Then he fell and the world went black.

****

_     "Let me out. I'll do anything you say. I-I won't forget! Just-just let me _out!"

     Yami opened his eyes with a moan. All was dark. _What-? He scrambled to his feet. __Where in __Egypt__ am I?_

_     Maybe I'm not in __Egypt__._

_     Maybe I died and went to hell._

     The teenager took in his surroundings. It was too black around him to see much, but he saw that the air around him was streaked with dark colors. Like a dim fog. And he _heard _voices.

     _"So you're finally learning the importance of obedience, ne? A pity, but you gave in too late."_

_     "No...no...don't do it..."_

     Yami swallowed hard. He would have known those two voices anywhere.

     Because one of them was _his._

     And the other one was Terran.

     _I'm dreaming. The teenager shook his head, trying to wake himself up. _I was dueling and now I'm dreaming.__

_     How can you dream when you are _dead?!

     Yami began to run. He had to get out of this misty place. Those voices...they reminded him of when he had been a slave.

     Which was something that he would rather have left forgotten.

     As he ran the angry voice and the scared one seemed to fade. Yami stopped for breath, heart pounding as he glanced wildly around. No one.

     A sudden, piercing scream tore through his head. It was as terrifying as hearing glass break in the middle of the night. Sweat began to pour down his face. _Oh, no... He started running again. __Wherever I am...this is too much like...like back then _when I was a slave...__

     And it wouldn't stop.

     The screaming...the yelling...it wouldn't stop.

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Look for the next chappie soon. I won't take as long to update it.

And _please _R/R.

~KR


	7. Devil's Challenge: Magician Against Drag...

Did they use magic and trap cards in the Ancient Egyptian duels? Yes? No? Someone review and tell me! (Oh, well. Too bad if they didn't. _I _use them in _my _duels ^_^)

~KR

P.S. By the way, my family's going on a vacation to Illinois for a week, so I won't be updating any time soon. -_-

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     "What's going on?" Katsuya demanded as a black fog enveloped the dueling arena and the two duelists. "What happened to Yami?"

     Seto frowned. "They're going to finish this duel in the Shadow Realm," he said quietly.

     "But that could _kill Yami," Nakht spoke up. "He's never dueled before, so he wouldn't be able to survive under the strain."_

     Seto didn't move. "Do you think that Yami _doesn't know that?"_

_     The devil, _Katsuya muttered.

     "No one ever said that dueling was easy," Kashta reminded them, and they all waited and watched in agitated silence

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     Yami slowed to a halt. Wherever he was, it seemed to go on forever.

_     "Why do you whine, _boy?_ Afraid of a little blood and pain. Or perhaps of what you think I'm going to do next?"_

     The voice was Terran's—him speaking to someone of whom Yami had not thought for a long time.

_     Atari._

_     He was taking punishment meant for _me.

The spiky-haired teenager clenched his fists. "No," he whisperingly thought aloud. "You are dead, Terran. This...this isn't—_can't be real!"_

     "And yet it _is."_

     Yami glanced up. "Where did you take me, Rai-djedi?" he demanded.

     The high priest grinned at his opponent from across the vast darkness that separated them. _"Take _you? Yami, you're making me think that you don't know your own _mind." Although he spoke quietly, his voice boomed in empty space._

     "Exactly," the teenager hissed. "I'd much rather forget...all that happened to me when I was younger."

     "All I did was take you on a little trip into your subconscious, just to remind you that, although you may be a skilled novice in the dueling world, you will never truly win until you dig deep and call upon all of your energy—"

     Yami flinched. The priest's words were almost exactly the same as Atari's. _"Even though you are incredibly resourceful for a boy your age, Yami, you will never truly _be as great as the pharaoh until you learn how to use _all _of your energies."__

     "—And to _get that energy...you must __remember." Rai-djedi was suddenly serious. "Now! We will finish this duel here, in the Shadow Realm. And if you don't survive, then it shows that you are truly _weak."__

     As if on cue, the Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared before the high priest, spanning the huge distance between them. It hung in the air, growling low as it waited for the next monster to become the dragon's prey.

     "I summon the Axe Raider!" Rai-djedi announced.

     Yami scowled. _There has__ to be a way to win this... "Giant Rock Soldier!" _If I can't attack, then I'll defend!__

     "Blue Eyes! Destroy him!" the high priest ordered. Pieces of smoking rock flew everywhere after one white lightning blast.

     The teenager clenched his fists, nails digging painfully into palms. _Dammit_.__

     "And that's not all!" Rai-djedi raised the Millennium Rod he held. "Come to life, Mystical Elf!" He was laughing now. "Axe Raider! Mystical Elf! I sacrifice you to enliven...the Red Eyes Black Dragon!" He smirked as the Black Dragon vociferously rose to life. "As you can see, Yami, dragons are my favorites."

     "Ohh..." Yami shut his eyes.

     _What do I do now? If I summon another monster, he'll only destroy it and bring me closer to my defeat. And if I summon one that's stronger than his dragons, I won't be able to support it._

_     It's hopeless._

     His eyes snapped open with a start. _Wait..._

_     If I summon the force of Change of Heart...and that of Monster Reborn... _A confident smirk changed his face. _Heh..._

     "That look on your face..." Rai-djedi scowled. " I don't like it."

     Ignoring the priest's remark, Yami raised his voice, in spite of the fact that he was rapidly weakening. "I invoke the powers of Change of Heart! Monster Reborn!"

     The girl holding the powers of light and dark appeared in a sparkle of brilliance. Beside her was the ankh, the symbol of life.

     Rai-djedi was so surprised that he nearly dropped the Millennium Rod. "Whaaat?!"

     "Now!" Yami declared. "Change of Heart, bring Red Eyes Black Dragon...to_ me!" _He almost laughed at the expression on the high priest's face. "Monster Reborn! Restore the Summoned Skull! To _me."___

     The two monsters were instantly on either side of him. Yami's hand went to the pyramid-like puzzle in the pouch at his belt. He almost gasped as he realized that it was warm, as if it sensed the excitement of the duel and wanted to join in. Without a second thought, the teenager held the puzzle high, bathing in the energy it sent him.

     "Unite now, Red Eyes and Summoned Skull! Bring to life the one who is stronger than the Blue Eyes." Yami was laughing now, something he hadn't done in a long time. "Black Skull Dragon!!" The giant black monster came to life. It was quickly consuming the teenager's energy, and he had to act fast. "Destroy the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

     Black light enveloped the white dragon.

     Needless to say, Rai-djedi was _speechless. _He opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came._ Osiris! I _can't _lose! Not against this...this..._boy!!Then he regained control of his emotions and took a deep breath.

     "I applaud your feeble efforts to make me lose," the man said coldly. "But it'll take more than _that to bring me down!"_

     _I just used the most powerful monster I could support to destroy his favorite. _Yami scowled. _'Feeble', he calls that..._

Rai-djedi suddenly smiled. "And I applaud the fact that _you _have the Millennium Puzzle; the Charm of a Thousand Years that has been missing for so long...!" He began to laugh. "Now, _when _I beat you, the Puzzle will be mine, and I will be that much closer to ruling Egypt." The man clenched his fists. "I conjure up the magic of Dark Hole!" A huge black portal appeared. It began to spin, the force of its windy vacuum almost pulling Yami into it. "Suck the Black Skull Dragon away! Away, and deep into your black void!"

     "My Dragon!" Yami crossed his arms over his eyes. The wind blew stronger. "No...!"

     "Heh..." Rai-djedi let out a breath of relief as the Dark Hole and the Black Skull Dragon disappeared. "I _now _summon _another one of my charming dragons!_

     Yami cringed imperceptibly. _Oh no..._

     "Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress!"

     Relief was so great that Yami almost laughed. _"That's _what you call a 'charming dragon'?" he taunted under his breath. "May the gods be cursed if I don't destroy it on my move!"

     Rai-djedi's face returned to its usual smirk. "Yes, Yami," he said icily. "May the gods be cursed." The high priest raised his voice. "I power the Winged Dragon with my rare Dragon Treasure! And again with Dragonic Attack! Ha!" The man began to laugh as his monster grew in proportion to its power. It let out a deafening roar that grated in the spiky-haired teenager's ears. [1]

     He could feel himself growing weaker.

_     And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse..._ Yami clutched the Millennium Puzzle tightly in numbed hands, closing his eyes. He didn't seem to notice when the puzzle's sharp edges cut his palms and blood streamed freely. _What am I going to do? I don't have the strength left in me to support the essence of the one who is stronger than the Winged Dragon._

_     Ra, I can't believe this. I'm going to lose._

_     I'm sorry, Atari._

     As if it sensed his distress, the Millennium Item began to glow; softly at first, but then with an unnatural, sharp quality. Yami felt the light's warmth, and forced himself to open his eyes. "What-?"

     Rai-djedi scowled suddenly, but didn't speak.

     The luminosity intensified a thousand times until both duelists were sure that they were blind. Yami took a deep breath...and he _knew _which monster he would summon.

     "Awaken, my powerful monster!! _Go, Dark Magician!!!"_

     The high priest's jaw literally dropped. _"Wha-aat?!"___

     "Hn." Yami smirked. _Looks like I _am _here for a reason, after all._ "Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!! Annihilate the Winged Dragon!"

     "No!" Rai-djedi shouted. But with one blow, the Winged Dragon was gone. The high priest opened and closed his mouth. He lurched on unsteady feet and let out a string of growled curses.

     While the man was trying to think of what to say, of how to best insult the teenager—the only one who had _ever beaten him—Yami decided to finish the man off. _He doesn't have enough strength to support anything else. I had better make this swift and painless for him... _"And now, your __punishment!" He raised the Millennium Puzzle, still stained crimson from his blood. "Penalty Game! Torture Illusion!"_

     Rai-djedi clasped his hands around his head as pain within him grew. "No!" he screamed. "I can _not _lose!! Not to some underprivileged..._fool _like you!"

     Yami stood over him, his face apathetic. "This is the punishment you deserve," the teenager said  quietly. "Maybe now you will begin to see just _how much _you hurt your opponents...and how you've hurt yourself."

     The high priest glanced up at Yami in surprise, as if to say, _How__ does one so young know so much? But all he managed to gasp was, "Damn...you..._boy..." _before collapsing to the ground. His body was gone in a shower of dark sparks._

_     He's...gone..._

_     I...won._

_     I _won!

     Yami sank to his hands and knees as the Shadow Realm faded around him. _Thank Ra, I won._

     "Yami!" exclaimed Katsuya. "You're...alive!" He raced to his friend's side with the others right behind him. "A-are you all right?"

     _No..._ The teenager squeezed his eyes shut. He was too tired to move; too tired to speak. The energy from the Puzzle was gone, and all anyone saw of him now was an exhausted teenager with fresh cuts on his hands.

     But he had won. And that's all that really mattered.

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[1] In today's Duel Monsters, the Winged Dragon's attack power would be 2200 when combined with Dragon Treasure and Dragonic Attack. Heh...yeah, I know...I _study _my cards. ^_^

R/R!!!!! Kani out!


	8. The New Heir

Sorry for the long delay in updating. But I believe I have conquered my writer's block now! Go, read, 'n review! ~_^

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     It belonged to the man wrapped in a dark cloak sitting at the edge of his bed. The bed was in a fairly large room, one with beautifully painted walls. "It" was a quiet voice, raspy from little use. Nevertheless, the voice held command. "You wanted to see me, Djurio?"

     The unusually tall man bowed low. "I apologize for disturbing my lord, the Pharaoh Ka-aper," he said calmly, "You-"

     "It's late. Forget the formalities and get on with it," ordered the hunched form on the bed.

     "A messenger from the Temple of the Seventh Duel brings news," the advisor said. "The high priest Rai-djedi has been defeated in a duel...by a young boy."

     "What?" The form stood erect, shedding its blanket to reveal a very surprised and middle-aged man. "Is this something done in jest?"

     Djurio shook his head. "No, my lord," he replied.

     "Who is this boy?"

     "I...do not know."

     The man stepped towards his vizier. "Find out who he is."

     "At once, my lord." Djurio snapped his fingers, and a young man appeared.

     "Zemti," Djurio said to him. "You are a priest at that temple. You were there when the high priest lost. Who was it who beat Rai-djedi?"

     The man glanced from the pharaoh to the vizier. "It...was Yami, son of Xander the goldsmith," he said, clearly uneasy at being in Ka-aper's presence.

     Djurio nodded. "You may go, Zemti."

     "How old is he?"

     "My lord?" Djurio arched an eyebrow.

     "The boy who defeated Rai-djedi...what is his age?"

     Djurio thought for a moment. "Fourteen, I heard."

     The pharaoh Ka-aper scowled. "Xander, eh?" he mused. "Apparently, his son has the same spirit as he. A spirit of _rebels."_ The man scoffed. "Nevertheless, I will meet this Yami. I desire my throne to pass to one more clever than I...and, unfortunately, my own son Amar hasn't the brain of a _fool."_ He smiled bitterly. "Bring the boy to meet me...at dawn tomorrow."

     Djurio nodded. "Is that all, my pharaoh?"

     "Yes."

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     Nakht yanked the reins forcing the horses to stop in the midst of the crowd that had formed although it was still early. Right at the palace's front steps.

     Yami stared. He had never seen the palace up close. So much marble and silver and gold...it was a dazzling sight.

     "Come." Nakht's voice broke the teenager's reverie. He stepped from the chariot handing the reins to a young porter standing nearby. Yami got off the chariot also, but before he followed Nakht into the bustling throng, he tossed the porter, who was just a boy, a few coins.

     "For keeping the horses," he whispered. The boy grinned.

     "Thank you!"

     Yami didn't reply, only smiled.

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     The guard met Nakht and Yami between the columns at the entrance to the palace. "What business brings you here?" he demanded curtly.

     "Summons from the pharaoh," Nakht replied with equal abruptness, holding out a papyrus scroll. "Read it, if you like."

     "Hmph." Snatching the scroll from the commander's hand, the sentinel opened and scanned it. "This way," he said after a moment, shoving the papyrus back into Nakht's hands.

     Exchanging an unreadable glance, Yami and Nakht followed the man into the cool, dimly-lit palace and down a dark hallway. The dark haired teenager wrapped his cloak tightly around him. He hated the cold.

     The surly guard led them down countless hallways before stopping before one particularly elaborately decorated room. He knocked twice.

     "Enter," a voice within ordered. The guard hastily obeyed, opening the door and motioning the two with him inside.

     Inside was a high writing table piled high with scrolls, behind which sat a man. He stood and approached the guard as they entered.

     The man, Yami observed, was tall and wore a considerable amount of gold. He was obviously a high-ranking official, by the cool manner in which he acted. The man spoke with the guard for a moment, then dismissed him and turned to Yami and Nakht.

     "I am Djurio," he said unceremoniously. "Come. The pharaoh will see you now."

_     Djurio. The vizier who replaced Terran, _Yami recalled. It was all too _strange, this cold, echoing place._

     The vizier Djurio paused before a huge set of double doors, before which stood two bored, stiff-looking guards. The guards snapped to attention as soon as they saw the nobleman approaching. They moved to slowly open the heavy doors.

     Yami froze with a faint gasp at all the light he saw. _Ra...this is the _throne room!! He began to feel so small and dirty compared to the splendor around him.

     Within the huge impressive room sat the gold and silver throne. Lining it on either side down the long red carpet were countless guards, each in white uniform. The pillars of silver were surrounded by a large crowd; the caravan from Kush delivering tribute to their overlord the pharaoh.

     _Ka-aper.__ The pharaoh... Ka-aper was a middle-aged man with jet and gray hair. He wore the red and white double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt besides all the gold ornaments on his fingers and arms._

     There was soft pipe music playing in the room, but it stopped the moment the doors opened. It was then that Yami realized how loudly his heart was pounding. _Ra, kill me now and take me to hell, I pray. This is not where I should be..._

     The pharaoh glanced up at the three intruders as they drew near. He scowled. For a split second his steely black eyes met Yami's crimson ones. Each looked away, unable to closely examine the darkness he saw in the other's eyes. Yami swallowed back the fear welling up. He couldn't move.

     _I shouldn't be here..._

     _Ra...if you don't kill me...then help me not to not panic._

     "These are the ones you summoned, my lord," Djurio declared, breaking the taut silence in the lighted room.__

     Pharaoh Ka-aper nodded. Djurio bowed halfway and slipped into his customary place at the man's left hand.

     "So..." the pharaoh began after another silent moment. "You are Yami. I've heard quite a lot about you ever since you beat Rai-djedi."

     Yami bowed. "Thank you, my lord," he said quietly. There was something in Ka-aper's voice that he instantly disliked; something that seemed to taunt him.

     "And Nakht, my old friend. It is good to see you again."

     Nakht smiled slightly, inclining his head. "I feel the same, my pharaoh," he replied.

     Noticing that the others in the room were listening closely and trying not to, Ka-aper raised a hand.

     "I must speak with this boy. _Alone," he said calmly, as if speaking with unusually gifted boys alone was something he did every day._

     After everyone had gone, Pharaoh Ka-aper turned his attention back to the spiky haired teenager standing before him. "Tell me this," he began. "How did Rai-djedi lose so easily?"

     Yami glared at the ground. "It wasn't easy," he muttered.

     "Oh?" The pharaoh was suddenly interested. "How did you defeat him at all, then? The high priest doesn't lose without a fight. If he loses at all, that is."

     Yami hesitated, but only for a moment. Reaching under his cloak, he pulled out the Millennium Puzzle. Ka-aper sucked in his breath.

_     So _this _is the legendary Millennium Puzzle...the Charm that has been sought after for so long, _he mused silently. _Strange._ This boy has an incredibly developed gaming mind...and power...to possess an Item _this __powerful..._

_     This is no ordinary boy, Ra help me._

     Yami observed the change that came over the pharaoh's face. _He wants the Puzzle, he realized. __And I sense he'll do anything to get it._

     "Why do you think I summoned you here?" Ka-aper questioned after examining the triangular object for a long moment.

     The teenager replied levelly, "Because you are interested in me and in what I can do. Everyone is, now that I've beaten the high priest."

     "Hn. So you know then." The pharaoh stood and came over to Yami. "So I'll tell you the entire truth. Yes, I _am _interested in you. I need an heir who is wise enough to rule Egypt when I die. My own son Amar is not so wise."

     Yami's eyes narrowed. "You're going to adopt me...as your successor?"

     Ka-aper smiled; a wide, unsettling smirk. "I _might_ want to."

     "But I'm _not your son!" the teenager protested, forgetting respectfulness and his apprehension about speaking to the pharaoh. "I am two summers younger than Amar!"_

     "Do you think that makes a difference?" Ka-aper leaned forward, eyes becoming dangerous. "From what I know about my son, if he inherits the throne, Egypt will not survive his reign! I might as well throw this city to the crocodiles!"

     Yami clenched his teeth. "You must be desperate for Egypt to survive if you wish to leave it to former slaves like me," he muttered.

     "Yes. I've thought of that." The pharaoh nodded. "But it does not matter _who _is in the throne as it does how he rules."

     "I can't become the pharaoh after you," the teenager muttered bitterly. "If I couldn't control my own anger and tongue, how do I expect to control a country that hates those like me?"

     "But Ra knows you have no choice."

     Yami winced at the scathing tone in the man's voice.

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     "What do you think, my lord?" Djurio asked when Yami and Nakht had gone. "Should I send them home?"

     "No. Tell Ruia to prepare another room."

     "What?"

     Ka-aper smiled again. "This boy...I like his way of thinking. He is the one who shall be my heir."


	9. Faded Scars

I sincerely apologize for not updating for...WHAT!!! TWO MONTHS!?!?! *kills self*

*ahem* Lately I've taken to liking LOTR (Legolas and Aragorn _rule)and_ DBGT (yes, it's not as good as DBZ, but _so what?!),_ and I'm not as interested in Yugioh as I used to be...

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_     Atari, why did you die...and leave me? Why? _Please!_ Come back...!_

     "Ra!" The young prince's eyes snapped open. He lay still for a moment, before realizing that he had fallen onto the floor. Sighing in disgust, Yami pulled himself to his feet and slumped on his bed.

_     Another nightmare, _he thought angrily, rubbing a hand across his burning eyes. _Will they ever stop?!_

     It had been four months since Yami had become, and it seemed that his life had gone from bad to worse. Ever since he had been adopted into Pharaoh Ka-aper's family, Yami had continually been at the firstborn son Amar's mercy. Being the only son of the pharaoh's beloved wife, who had died several years ago, Amar had been thunderstruck when he had learned that a _slave_—a _rebel's son, no less—was replacing him as Ka-aper's heir. So the older teen began taking his hurt and anger out on Yami._

     And the pharaoh's two remaining wives...! Just thinking about them made the spiky haired boy wince. They abhorred him—

_     —but they have quite a right to do so, _Yami thought bitterly as he tried to go back to sleep.

     It was true. After all, they'd spent a great deal of their lives producing sons to please the pharaoh...and the spiky haired teenager's adoption was like a slap in the face. It said that Ka-aper preferred boys of uncertain birth to his own children.

_     I wish I wasn't so alone... _Without realizing it, Yami found himself blinking back tears at the childish thought.

_     No. I can't go back to sleep. It's a waste of time to lie thinking like this... _With that thought, the teenager got up and, after wrapping a thick, black cloak around him and fastening the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, stepped from his room into the cool halls.

     Yami had never overcome his amazement at how vast the palace was. He had nearly gotten lost once. Remembering this, the prince smirked as he slipped from the palace through a servant's entrance; one that was unguarded.

     "Ra..." the teenager murmured as he glanced up and saw the night desert sky, all strewn with stars. "I never knew..." Suddenly tired, he sank down against the palace wall, mentally identifying the various constellations he recognized.

     Exhaustion washed over him after several moments. Yami was about to succumb to sleep when a stealthy but audible footstep abruptly put him on his guard. "Who's there?" he demanded, getting to his feet.

     A figure emerged from the darkness, revealing itself to be none other than the pharaoh's firstborn son. Yami scowled.

     "What are you doing here, _Amar__?"_

     The newcomer was a young man, about seventeen years old, with straight black hair and onyx eyes. He was noticeably taller and more muscular than Yami, but not half as smart.

     "I was born here," Amar replied quietly. "It matters little where I go or what I do. Besides," he added, looking up to the skies, "I need to study the stars of the goddess Nut this clear night, for I am being tutored in the art of astrology." His midnight glare turned back to rest accusingly upon Yami. "And thanks to you, I will never have any use for it as _pharaoh..."_

     "Why does everyone insist on blaming _me for this?" the spiky haired teenager demanded. "I wasn't the one who wanted to be adopted!"_

     "True, but I heard no objection from you, either." Amar clenched his fists. Raising his head to the sky, he spoke to the gods—the very habit that had made others consider him mad at times. "Ra, why do you insist on torturing me this way? What have I done to deserve Yami...a _slave...for a brother?"_

     Ordinarily, Yami would have ignored Amar, but the mention of his name and that hated word "slave" in the same sentence made him unusually angry. So before he knew it, his fist had smashed into Amar's face, sending the unsuspecting one sprawling.

     "Take that back, in Nekhbet's name!" he exclaimed, ready to punch the prince again if he tried to get up. "I am no slave!"

     Amar clenched his teeth, rising to his elbows. "Then what are you?" Yami hesitated. "A prince? No, Yami, a true prince is of noble blood. A commoner? You are far too tricky for that. That still leaves one possibility—"

     "I _told_ you, I am _not_ a slave!" The spiky haired teenager bent to deal another blow, but before he could react, Amar had his arm painfully locked behind his back, and his body was roughly shoved into the wall. The younger one tried not to cry out as the sharp edges of the Puzzle dug into his stomach. "Look at yourself," the prince hissed in Yami's ear. He ripped off the teenager's cloak, exposing his scarred back. "Feel your old wounds!"

     The knife Amar always kept in his belt came up and traced faded whip marks on the younger one's back, slowly at first, but then fast enough to draw blood. "If you aren't a slave, then what are you?" His hand came up swiftly, snapping Yami's head against the wall. "Answer me!"

_     No. _Barely feeling the trickle of warm blood down his hot face, Yami shut his eyes. His face was hit again, and harder this time, but the teenager sealed his lips. _Not a word..._

     "So you won't answer me?" Amar's cold voice burst in on the roar that filled Yami's ears. He suddenly released the boy, thrusting him to the hard-packed sand. "Fine, then." The black haired prince kicked the motionless body on the ground. "Just remember this, Yami. A slave is what you always have been, and always will continue to be."

     Then like the little patches of dew before the sun, Amar was gone.

     The teenager on the ground stayed immobile for several long moments as the night sounds of the desert crept back into the air, just letting the revived pain from his old wounds subside. Finally, he reached down, his hands fumbling for the Puzzle.

     Relief washed over him as he realized it was undamaged, but this quickly gave way to boiling anger as the young prince pushed away from the sand.

_     Atari..._

     "How could this have happened?" he hissed as he touched his bleeding face and looked down at his reddened hand. "After all you promised me...how could you leave me here in this hell while you went on to the afterlife? You lied to me, just like all the others, _Atari."_

     Ice began to fill the teenager's mind. "Curse you," Yami whispered heatedly to the stars. "From the bottom of my soul I curse you all!"

     There were tears in his crimson eyes as he went back to bed.

****

     "You wanted to speak to me...Father?" The teenager spat the last word.

     Pharaoh Ka-aper nodded. "Come in, my son."

_     Your son. _Yami scowled openly as he bowed and entered, knowing that his father wouldn't see it in the dark library.

     "You can read and write, can you not?" was the ruler's first question.

     Yami was caught off guard. "Yes..." he answered slowly. "You were the one who appointed me a tutor to teach me when I was first adopted."

     "And you are progressing well?"

     "I am." A pause. "Why do you ask?"

     "There is something I need you to see." Ka-aper indicated the map on the table. It, the teenager saw, was a map of Egypt. "Tomorrow," he continued as Yami scanned it quickly, "I have called for a council of my generals and closest advisors. We meet to discuss certain trouble along our southern border...mainly below the fifth cataract."

     "And?" Yami arched an eyebrow.

     "You are to be present."

     "What?" Scarlet eyes widened. "But I'm—"

     "—only a youth, I know." The pharaoh smiled, and the dim torchlight made him look mysterious. "But you are wise beyond your years...wiser than you know."

     _Why does he insist on reminding me of that? _"I see. I...thank you, Father." In spite of his astonishment, Yami had fully expected something like this to happen.

     But there was still one more thing... "And what of Amar, my father? Is he to attend?"

     "Of course," Ka-aper replied coolly. "And why should he not? He _is _my eldest son."

     _Shit. _"I see." Yami bowed. "It's late. I'll take my leave now, if it pleases you, Father."

     "Hn." Pharaoh Ka-aper nodded. His smile disappeared abruptly. "Yami..."

     "Yes?" The dark haired teenager snapped his eyes back to the elderly man.

     "Your back...what happened?"

_     Curse it! Of all things, how could I have forgotten to wear my cloak after what Amar did to me last night?_ "It is nothing, Father," the young prince said hastily as he backed out of the room. "Those were old scars."

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Gomen ne if the angst was underdeveloped. *sigh* I believe I am losing my touch...but review anyway, for OSIRIS commands thee!! XP


	10. Up From The Past

My Excuse For Not Updating:

Er...I've become more interested in Redwall now...?

Wow...time has it's way of gettin' away from a body. It's been about five months, people!!!

**Note:**

I have no idea how ancient Egyptian schools were supposed to run. I do know that boys could be trained to be scribes, though. And I also don't know how the lesser priests addressed their high priest. ^_^ So don't get mad if this chappie's inaccurate.

Get ready for the World's-Most-Boring-Chapter!!!!

~KR

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     "Katsuya?"

     "Yami?"

     "It's really you, after all this time!" The two old friends embraced. "Oh, Yami—or should I call you Prince Yami?—I truly have missed you..." Katsuya pulled back after a moment, examining Yami carefully. He frowned.

     "What is wrong, Yami?" the teenager asked in a low voice so the other generals and advisors couldn't hear. "You look..."

     "Wasted?" The spiky haired prince let a grim smile show. "Troubled? Now how could that be so? I am the son of the highest-ranking official in Egypt! How could something be wrong?"

     "I am serious, Yami," Katsuya said quietly.

     "So am I." The shorter teenager glanced around the room, quickly deciding to change the subject. "Why are you here, Katsuya? Are you a captain already?"

     The blond haired one flashed his ready smile and shook his head, knowing that further questions would get him nowhere. "Me? No, by the gods, no. I'm just the general's aide."

     Yami arched an eyebrow. "But you're merely fifteen summers old," he reminded his friend.

     "I know, and so are you." Katsuya crossed his arms. "Each of us is gifted in different ways, it seems. What news of Seto and the others?"

     Yami shook his head. "I will tell you when we are finished here." He indicated the others gathered for the council.

****

     The council was terribly boring. Yami still couldn't concentrate when it came to matters of war, prince though he was. For the life of him, he could not picture why fighting over desert land was so important. He obviously preferred games.

     On the other hand, Katsuya was enjoying himself. Years of slavery had taught him how to think before he acted or fought, something underrated among the Egyptians, who favored strength over skill.

     "Tell me, Yami," the blond haired teenager began as he and his friend walked among the quieter halls of the palace as the council had adjourned. "What is it about this place...that makes you seem so different?"

     Yami thought up a believable lie, but couldn't bring himself to say it. He stopped walking and sighed. "You're right, Katsuya, as usual..." the young prince muttered. "I am different." He glanced back the way they'd come. "Did you see that tall boy sitting at...Father's...left hand? That was his real son Amar." When Katsuya looked puzzled, Yami explained the reasons behind his adoption.

     "Ah." The blond haired teenager nodded slowly when his friend had finished. "I understand now..."

     "The worst part of it is not being able to tell anyone," Yami said unhappily.

     "What do you mean?" Katsuya demanded. "You're the favored son of the pharaoh! You're going to rule in his place when he dies! Why can't you tell anyone?"

     "Amar is stronger than I ever could become." Tears of frustration filled Yami's eyes and he angrily blinked them back. "He threatens me...even fought with me once. And his brothers and sisters, the younger princes and princes, all hate me, too. If I were to tell someone what he does to me, I would be hated more than I already am!"

     "But you're telling _me," _Katsuya reminded him. "Why do you trust me and not the others here?"

     "Because they hate me!" Yami angrily snapped. He turned on Katsuya, his crimson eyes glittering. "Do you know what it's like to have people watching you all the time? If I make one mistake, everyone says, 'See, he's a slave boy; by Ra he'd make an unreliable pharaoh.' But if I do something right, Amar punishes me for it! I hate calling the pharaoh 'Father', for that is not what he is! I keep thinking of Atari...and what he and my real father did for me...and I cannot even remember what they looked like. And so I hate everyone here with everything I am! " Yami cut off his tirade and slammed his fist into the wall, sullenly refusing to speak.

     Knowing that he had tread on dangerous ground, Katsuya leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Tell me about the others."

****

     It was night—two nights since the council meeting, and the generals were preparing to return home. Katsuya and Yami stood in the silent gardens together as they talked one last time—gardens that had been Amar's mother's favorite.

     "So...Seto is a priest now?" Katsuya sat on the stone bench by the dark pond.

     "Yes." Yami remained standing. "He's almost reached the position of high priest. Mokuba is more of a seneschal now though. The only reason he stays in the temple is because he doesn't want to leave his brother."

     "And what of Ishtar?"

     The spiky haired prince frowned into the pond. "I was about to ask you that," he said softly. "I haven't seen nor heard from him since I came to the palace."

     "He left Nakht soon after you did," Katsuya explained. "We still don't know why, but he seemed upset over your leaving."

     "Really." Yami snorted. "I wonder why..."

     There was a sudden call from one of the rooms above.

     "Katsuya! Up here now!"

     "My general." The blond groaned as he rose to his feet. "I'm coming, _Neb_Anedjib!"

     Yami also stood. "Remember," he said harshly, "you will tell no one about Amar."

     Katsuya forced himself not to object. He knew that Yami hated nothing more than a wounded pride. "I will tell no one, my friend. But please, take my advice and tell someone yourself."

     The adopted prince wasn't listening. He had already walked off, stumbling down the path away from the palace. Katsuya breathed a prayer after him

_     Ra be with you until next we meet._

****

     "You write with a sure hand, Yami."

     The dark haired teenager nodded briefly. Several of the other boys exchanged envious glances. It was well-known that he was the best in the class.

     "Thank you..._Neb_ Ikeni," Yami said softly, keeping his eyes on the papyrus scroll he was finishing. Behind him, Amar snickered, his hot breath burning on the younger one's neck. Yami grit his teeth, squeezing the reed pen tighter in his hand.

     He hated the temple scribe's school—the one that was made solely for the purpose of educating the rich, priests, and nobility. He hated being the best in his class. He hated the whispers, the taunts, the sneers.

     But most of all, Yami hated the loneliness.

     For the umpteenth time, he wished he was still a slave. At least _there _he wouldn't be expected to lean how to write or rule Egypt. And he wouldn't receive so much attention from girls, about whom the adopted prince cared little.

_     But then again, if I were still a slave, I would get... _The teenager shook his head as he forced himself to concentrate on writing hieroglyphics.

     _I don't want to think about that. Not now, or _ever.

****

     "Attack, Dark Magician!"

     Yami stood back with satisfaction as his favorite monster plowed into his opponent's Mystical Elf.

     "Raigeki, destroy!" Siamun commanded.

     A lightning bolt shot from the ceiling, shocking the Dark Magician into oblivion. Yami glanced down at the stone tablets in the ground before him.

     "Summoned Skull!" he called after a moment's hesitation.

     "Prevent Rat!"

     Yami stopped himself from ordering the Summoned Skull to attack. Siamun wasn't a strong opponent, but a clever one; he never moved to defense without a winning plan in mind.

     The prince mentally summoned a trap before ordering, "Summoned Skull, attack!"

     "Summoned Skull activates my trap," Siamun said calmly. "Mirror Force!"

     "Your trap activates my trap," Yami rejoined without missing a beat. "Seven Tools of the Bandit! Mirror Force is useless, and Prevent Rat is eliminated."

     Siamun crossed his arms. A priest of many years, he had met his share of tough opponents, but Yami was truly different from them all. _Truly unusual, _he noted. _He doesn't seem to be affected by the strain many duelists have collapsed under._

     "Well, High Priest Siamun?" Yami asked suddenly. "Have I passed your test, or do you want me to beat you some more?"

     "I concede," the high priest replied good-naturedly. "Now I see why so many say you are the best duelist in all of Egypt..."

     Before he could continue, the doors to the dueling room flew open. In flew Priest Seto, with Mokuba in tow. The teenager's expression was one of slight anger.

     "I heard you were here, Yami," he began.

     Yami tensed up, figuring where the conversation would lead. "And?"

     "And I've heard about what a good duelist you've become." Seto glanced down at the stone tablets. "I'm the best duelist in the temple; why don't you duel me and we'll see how good you really are?"

     The request was so sudden that Yami was momentarily dumbstruck. "Y-you want _me _to duel you?"

     "Yes." For the first time, Seto deigned to notice Siamun. "If that's all right with you, _Neb_Siamun."

     "Go on." Siamun stepped down from the platform. "I'll watch."


End file.
